Marty uncertain of next career move

SAN DIEGO -- Marty Schottenheimer wasn't supposed to hit the
coaching free-agent market for another 11 months. Now he'll have
plenty of time to assess the NFL landscape.

The 63-year-old Schottenheimer, fired by the Chargers on Monday
because of the inability of himself and general manager A.J. Smith
to co-exist, said Tuesday that he's not yet ready to define his
future plans.

"I really haven't given it a whole lot of thought but I feel as
long as my health is good, I enjoy what I'm doing and I'm certainly
going to keep my options open," Schottenheimer said. "We'll have to
wait and see. But I wouldn't rule it out if the right opportunity
presented itself."

Schottenheimer said that continuing as a head coach wouldn't be
dictated by whether a team was ready to win or in a rebuilding
mode. He said the major factor would be the team's ownership and
direction.

On Monday, team president Dean Spanos elected to part ways with
Schottenheimer because of the coach's well-public rift with Smith.
Schottenheimer reiterated Tuesday that he has no issue with Spanos'
decision.

"Dean made the decision that he viewed as being in the best
interests of the Chargers' organization and I do not disagree with
him at all," Schottenheimer said.

Schottenheimer, who has won 200 NFL games, said he doesn't think
the situation will affect future employment opportunities.

"I think they'll recognize that it was just a matter of two
individuals having different perspectives on how to build winning
teams," Schottenheimer said.

The recent disagreements focused on the makeup of
Schottenheimer's coaching staff. But Schottenheimer said he doesn't
view the organization's unwillingness to allow him to interview his
brother Kurt for the defensive coordinator position as an
overriding factor in his ouster. He believes Spanos was tired of
the arrangement where Schottenheimer and Smith communicated through
intermediaries with there being no way to resolve the communication
gap.